Sudden very sloppy shifting Options

[andreic]

About 3 months ago I completed an engine rebuild on my 1975 1.8L. While the engine was out I replaced all the bushings along the shifter bar. Everything went well, and the shifting was very crisp. (I've had this car for 4 years, so I am well accustomed with how it should shift and where the gears are.)

A week ago I removed the shifter knob, to replace it with an aftermarket one. It came out fairly easy, without much pulling. However, after that I started noticing that the shifting started to move to the left: getting into 1st gear started being difficult, then going from 2nd to 3rd was strange (further to the left than I used to find it), and today finally it started being impossible to put it in reverse. Nevertheless, the available gears were still crisp.

I thought that the shifting adjustment bolt slipped, so I tried to adjust the shifter. I managed to adjust it so that I have all 6 gears again, but unfortunately now the shifting is extremely sloppy. When I am in gear I can still move the shifter 1-2 inches to each side. Also it is almost impossible to feel when you are in gear and when you're not.

I went under the car today, and did not see anything unusual, all the bushings are in their place. But the shifter bar can be moved around quite a bit, even when the transmission is in gear.

Any ideas what could have happened? The only idea I have now is that maybe the shifter itself has failed (I read that some welding points can crack in it). Honestly, my first thought was that something got damaged inside the transmission itself, but I can't quite imagine what may have been damaged. (And furthermore, it does not grind, and goes into all gears properly, and drives just fine.)

Any suggestions will be highly appreciated. Thanks, Andrei.